Steven Peterson

The paper will present an overview of the methods and results of the screening level ecological risk assessment (ERA) performed at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL). The INEL is a site with some distinct characteristics. First it is a large Department of Energy (DOE) laboratory (2,300 km{sup 2}) having experienced 40 years of nuclear material production operations. Secondly, it is a relatively undisturbed cold desert ecosystem. Neither of these issues have been sufficiently addressed in previous ERAs. It was necessary in many instances to develop methods that differed from those used in other studies. This paper should provide useful methodologies for the ERAs performed at other similar sites.